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Young people from the Kipohtakaw Education Centre on the Alexander First Nation skipped their way to a total of $2,000 for charity on March 1.

"The Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation just couldn't believe that we raised that much, especially since we're a small community," said Tracy Matkea, a Grade 6 teacher at the school.

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Despite the recent announcement by Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice that a national water quality standard was going to be put in place, many public works officials in Aboriginal communities in Alberta remain sceptical.

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Seventeen young people were honored at the third annual Alberta Youth Achievement Awards Gala on March 25 in Edmonton. The Jubilee Auditorium was filled with youth, family members, teachers and mentors.

Sponsored by the Metis Nation of Alberta (MNA), the idea for the awards was to pay tribute and promote Metis youth, said MNA President Audrey Poitras. "Some have studied hard and done magnificent things. We want to recognize them for that," she said. "We believe we need to honor, not just Metis youth, but Aboriginal youth."

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Once. That's it. The new federal government's throne speech, which sets out the agenda of the ruling Conservative party as it heads into its first session of Parliment, mentions the word Aboriginal only one time in more than 2,000 words. The speech was delivered by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean on April 4 in the Senate chambers in Ottawa.

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On March 3 in Tsuu T'ina in southern Alberta lawyer Jodie-Lynn Waddilove, a First Nations woman from the Munsee-Delaware Nation, was called to the Alberta Bar. The ceremony took place in the Tsuu T'ina Junior/Senior High School and was attended by some of the school's student population.

Already a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, Waddilove becomes a member of the Law Society of Alberta and is now entitled to practice law in this province.

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The Alberta Business Awards of Distinction were handed out at a gala banquet in Calgary on Feb. 22 and several Aboriginal businesses were recognized. Hosted by the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, and sponsored in part by Syncrude Canada, the Edmonton and Calgary Sun newspapers, TELUS, the University of Alberta, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative, to name just a few, the awards recognized achievement and success.

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During the two-day Alberta Conference on Diabetes and Aboriginal Peoples, participants were armed with information to help fight off the diabetes epidemic that persists on and off reserve.

"I hope that the participants leave the conference knowing that the tools of eliminating this epidemic do exist and it's just a matter of now knowing where and how to get to these services," said Daniel Thut, diabetes initiative co-ordinator for the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association (ANFCA).

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There are now 1,126 Aboriginal apprentices working in Alberta. This is an increase of 888 apprentices in less than four years, and a cause to celebrate.

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The good work of Dr. Maggie Hodgson, former director of Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute, and founder and national co-chair of the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation, has been recognized by Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean. Hodgson has been named an officer of the Order of Canada.